Never Return to Neverland
by QuinnJ
Summary: Ariel had always been known to save humans in peril. Never had she considered that one day, she might be the one in need of saving.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This started out as a simple idea for a one-shot about Ariel, but it kinda turned into more than that along the way. Other focus characters include Peter Pan, Hook, Snow, Wendy and Felix. Wish me luck with that. ;)**

**I wasn't too sure about the rating so I went with M to be on the safe side. It doesn't start out that way, but there will be somewhat graphic violence in later chapters. **

* * *

It was a rare moment of peace and quiet they found themselves in. Peter Pan and Felix were sitting side by side, sharpening their weapons. They often did this, but with the adults on the island now, they rarely had moments like that anymore. And it seemed even this one was to be short-lived as Pan felt a jolt going through his body and he stopped his activities. Ever in tune to his leader's state of being, Felix asked him what was the matter.

"Someone's leaving Neverland."

Felix immediately wanted to spring into action, suggesting they'd stop whoever it was, but Pan knew it was already too late. The person, or rather, creature who had left Neverland was a mermaid. He had little sway over them since they could travel between realms of their own accord.

"Don't worry Felix," he said when he noticed his friend's worried expression. "We simply need to get word to our friends on the ground."

"Storybrooke?" Felix asked with disdain in his voice. That town has brought them nothing but trouble, not to mention a bunch of adults who ruin everything. It wasn't in his nature to question Peter, but he really didn't share his leader's confidence in the people working for him.

"They can handle this," said Pan, glancing up at the cage. They'd better if they wanted their darling little sister to live.

* * *

At the edge of the lake, Ariel had positioned herself on some rocks close to shore, holding the bracelet tightly in her hands, fearing that her only chance to get her wish fulfilled would somehow slip through her fingers. With great care she put it into her satchel along with the shell like item Rumpelstiltskin had given her. She was supposed to give it to a woman named Belle in a town called Storybrooke. It was all quite vague and there were no guarantees that the Evil Queen would actually honor her word this time around, but she knew herself too well, she'd do anything to find her true love again. Even take a big risk such as this.

Ariel didn't expect an honest answer, however, she had to ask whether or not she would indeed receive the location of her prince. All Regina could tell her was to trust her. Without further dialogue she slipped back into the water. No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't shake the feeling she was being tricked again.

She felt like a fool for trusting Regina again. The Queen had only deceived her in the past, took away her voice, her chance at happiness together with Eric and she had almost killed her only friend. And yet, in spite of all that, she hadn't been able to resist the offer. The prospect of seeing Eric, talking to him, kissing him, explaining to him that she hadn't abandoned him all those years ago, it was too tempting for words.

Finding this Belle and retrieving the box Rumpelstiltskin had asked for, would lead to her finding Eric. This thought strengthened her resolve more than anything. So she swam, she swam as fast as her fin would carry her.

* * *

Elsewhere in Neverland a girl, Wendy Darling, sat in high above the ground in a cage. Cages were for animals or so she had learned once. Not for humans, but there was this boy, who locked her up anyway. Did that mean she was an animal now? Or did the boy only view her as one.

She had wanted to save Bae, but she wasn't a very great heroine. She had been captured within minutes of touching Neverland soil. She had been scared to go back. Her first visit here was less than pleasant and she had been extremely relieved to be allowed back to her home, to her family, of which Baelfire had become a part of. He was like a big brother to not only her, but to John and Michael as well. They needed someone to look up to, she always tried her best to look after her younger siblings, but they were boys and boys were very different from girls. Very different indeed. Peter Pan was a boy, a very cruel boy. The stories she'd heard about Neverland were true, however, not all was told in these tales. Like how the leader of this place was mean and his followers weren't any nicer.

She thought she was being brave, by overcoming her fears of returning to Neverland. Turned out she was only very foolish. Not brave. She never even got the chance to search for Bae, for all she knew he could be dead by now. Wendy had lost track of the number of days she was trapped here, but she knew it was long. Her former life had begun to seem like a dream, like an unreality. It felt as though she had always been on this island. Right from the start.

Wendy was ripped out of her train of thought by a jolt of the cage. She felt it being lowered to the ground. Panic set in. Oh no, no no. It was him. He wanted something from her. He always did. He always promised her she'd go free if she'd just do him this one last favour. If she didn't agree, she would never see her brothers again, nor they her. She wasn't even close to the ground yet and already she cringed and curled up in a ball, as if somehow, that way, he would not see her. He'd overlook her and leave to go about his business. It really never worked, but her instincts were to recoil and stay safely out of his grasp.

The wooden crate hit the ground with a thud, not a smooth landing, but not all that rough either. At least they hadn't simply cut the rope so she and her cage would crash to their demise. The locks rattled as Peter opened them. That sound, it never failed to fill her with the smallest amount of hope. Hope was all she had in this place. Hope that one day he'd keep his word and let her go.

The door swung open and there he was, extending his hand for her to take it. She didn't want to touch him. Like a fool she asked him if she was to be set free. 'Not yet Wendy' were his chosen words. 'Yet', as if there would actually come a day when his answer would be a simple but certain yes. It confused her to no end. She took his hand and chills ran down her spine at the contact. As soon as she stood out of her confinement, she let go of his hand, standing before him apprehensively.

"I need you to do me a favour," he said in a tone that made it very clear he wasn't asking, he was telling her. "We have a guest, a guest that needs some incentive to believe."

Wendy stepped away from him inconspicuously. She didn't like where this was going. "We're going to play a game. Your favorite as I recall," he could hardly keep the condescension out of his voice. "The princess and the prince. I need you to be the princess in distress, so Henry, our newest recruit, can be your knight in shining armour." He was mocking her. She really didn't feel like playing games, ever, but she knew better than to refuse Peter's demands. So she asked for the rules, like she was supposed to.

"What is he rescuing me from?"

"An illness. Magic is dying and so are you," he said that last part rather menacingly. He was threatening her casually and they both knew it. What he was really saying was, if you screw this up, you die. "Oh and Wendy, let's make it convincing yes?" Wendy nodded her head and let Pan lead her by the arm towards the hut in the tree.

Once there he shoved her onto the bed. "Remember what I said..." he warned. Wendy looked at him warily. This wasn't good enough for Pan so he started towards her. "Yes," she said promptly, before he could take his second step. Keeping him as far away from her as possible was all she cared about. He stopped in his tracks and smiled.

"Good girl."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just wanted to say a quick thank you, to those who followed and faved the story. It's very much appreciated, believe me. Of course, I'm quite happy too, if you simply read it at all. :)**

* * *

On his way back to camp Felix was in deep thought. He had just come from the old abandoned tree house where Peter had taken Wendy. She was supposed to help them achieve their goal. Making the kid believe. His face scrunched up skeptically at the thought of it. It wasn't so much that he doubted Pan or his capabilities, he was sure his leader had it all under control. He just couldn't see how all these annoying intruders would ever stop getting in the way.

Girls, adults. Peter knew how to handle them. Felix, however, did not. He admired his leader's strength and focus to not kill them on sight. That's what he would've done anyway, but that would've gotten them nowhere. He knew they needed the boy's heart and they needed him to give it of his own free will. This was why he'd never make a great leader, manipulation wasn't his thing, he'd rather bash the heads in than play games with them.

Oh but Peter was all about the games. He personally didn't have the patience for it, but he loved seeing him play those suckers. He toyed with them like they were dolls and all they could do was dance to his tune. The map he gave the saviour, the echo caves, all designed to crack them from the inside. So far it had worked quite well. They were running around the island like headless chickens trying to be one step ahead of him, when all they could manage was being two steps behind. It amused Felix a great deal.

He could learn a lot from Peter. Even though he was more of a physical damage kinda guy, one should never underestimate the power that lies in emotional damage. To weaken an enemy simply by twisting their minds to turn on themselves was brilliant. It certainly kept them busy and off their backs.

Felix had been curious to know who exactly was able to leave Neverland without Pan's approval. He could guess though. He knew of only one sort that could leave whenever they pleased. Mermaids. How he loathed them. He sincerely hoped it was one of them just so that they'd be dispatched of upon their arrival in Storybrooke.

He had had an unfortunate run in with one of those damn fish when he first arrived here and knew nothing of Neverland's dangers. He was new to this land and eager to explore. In his naïve curiosity he had come too close to the edge of the mermaid's lagoon and then, well then he had found out exactly how friendly mermaids really were. He was left with a nasty scar as a souvenir.

Luckily Peter had come to save him in the end. Good thing he showed up, otherwise Felix would not be here today. He owed him his life.

Finally having reached the campsite he sat down on one of the logs scattered around. There he waited for Pan to return with the update on getting the boy to believe in his 'mission'.

Not long after he had settled himself amongst the other Lost Boys, Peter returned as well. He came to a halt in front of Felix who looked up at him expectantly.

"And?"

"It worked," Pan replied. "She was quite convincing, almost fooled _me_."

Felix lowered his head and chuckled at that. Deceiving Peter Pan was not an easy task. In fact it was perfectly impossible. He looked back up and saw that same look on Peter's face. The one he had whenever he sensed something of importance on the island, but this time he was slightly less at ease.

"Someone leaving again?" Felix asked.

"No... someone arriving."

Those two words were all that needed to be said to explain exactly what was happening here. John and Michael had failed and now the messenger was back, no doubt with gifts for his beloved son and his group of rescuers. This was not good.

"A mermaid?" Felix inquired, this time eager to have his suspicions verified.

"Indeed," Pan confirmed. His lips curled up into a wide grin. He scanned the compound fleetingly, counting the amount of Lost Boys at his disposal. Satisfied with the ones that were present, he announced loudly, so that everyone could hear:

"Alright! Gather your things. We're going fishing boys!"

Felix shared a mischievous look with Peter. Finally, he'd get his payback. And now he was gonna thank the little sea hag for what her kind had done to him.

* * *

Ariel was smiling from ear to ear. It really worked. Regina had enchanted the bracelet for her, no tricks this time. From now on she could walk around on land whenever it pleased her. She had decided to try it out before she headed back. Just in case the Queen had gone back on her word somehow.

It had been an awful long while since the last time she was granted legs. She raised a single leg off the ground, bringing her knee up to admire one of her newly acquired limbs. Unfortunately she quickly found that wasn't such a good idea. She stumbled over into the sand. Giggling uncontrollably at her own clumsiness, she leaned back on her elbows. Legs were always a bit difficult to get used to the first couple of minutes.

The mermaid sat there for a moment, taking it all in. Her heart skipped a beat when the image of Eric came to mind. Nothing stood in her way now. She was free to be happy. With her prince. So what was she still doing here?! She jumped up on her feet and walked over to the edge of the water. Back to Storybrooke it is.

She had been told that is was created by dark magic, but it was a surprisingly lovely little town for having originated from a curse designed to make people's lives miserable. She had especially liked Belle. She reminded her a lot of her friend Snow. The moment Ariel met Belle, she had felt at ease; that perhaps this whole mission she was sent on wasn't an elaborate ruse and that this woman would help her complete her task. She definitely felt she could say, that now, she had two close friends.

The moment she started to remove the bracelet, Ariel heard chants and howling coming from the jungle. She turned around and before any of it registered, she was surrounded by a group of boys. They did not look very friendly at all and neither did those weapons they were carrying with them.

While the Lost Boys charged towards their target, Peter lingered at the jungle's boundary. He had spotted someone walking along the shores so he'd sent the boys ahead to check it out. Once the person was cornered, he stepped out of the shadows of the trees to take a closer look at them. What he saw was not what he had expected to find.

A girl. A woman. With the fiercest shade of red hair he had ever seen.

"Hello there!" he greeted from a distance. He walked over casually to where everyone, including Felix, was standing. He stopped in front of Ariel, a bit too close for her liking. "Who are you and how did you get here?" he asked curiously, not remembering seeing her with any of the other adults who were here to save Henry. "I'm Peter Pan," he tried.

Still, she stayed perfectly silent.

"Hm not speaking are we? That's very rude," he stated, raising an eyebrow.

Ariel had placed her hand over the bracelet, ready to slip it off and take a dive into the water. Peter's eyes narrowed at the ornament around her wrist; it had a distinct significance to it, he could feel it. It most likely was a magical object.

"Tell me, where did you get that?" he gestured in the direction of her arm.

Ariel stared at him defiantly and pursed her lips together, sending him the message that he was not getting anything out of her. At least not anything that could be traced back to the people who were trying to save that little boy. She might not know much about the person Regina had become since they'd parted, nor about the man she brought along, however, she did know they were helping Snow and her daughter. She would not betray her friend's trust, not now, not ever.

Peter was getting tired of this. He had other things to do, like track down the mermaid who was aiding Rumpelstiltskin. And if that thing she was grasping so tightly had any powers he needed to make sure she wouldn't be able to use it against him. He held out his hand to her.

"Alright have it your way, give it to me."

"No!"

He cocked an eyebrow triumphantly at getting her to speak. "Oh she does have a voice after all." He nodded to two of the boys who then proceeded to take a hold of her by the arms, keeping her firmly in place. Panic set in as Ariel struggled for her freedom, it was no use though. Peter took one step forward and wrapped his fingers around her forearm, gripping it painfully. With his other hand he yanked the bracelet off her.

"No please!"

Their eyes locked for a split second. She fell down to the ground, slipping out of Peter's grasp. What happened then elicited gasps from almost every boy there. They all backed away from her immediately, except Felix. No, not him. He was pleased. Very pleased.

Peter watched the entire scene unfold before him. Eyes wide in surprise when he witnessed her legs erupting in scales. He couldn't contain his excitement any longer. Grinning like a Cheshire cat at his catch he moved closer to Ariel, who was now fully transformed and securely bound by her mermaid fin. Unable to run anywhere. He crouched down beside her, capturing her gaze with his own.

"Well well, things just got a whole lot more fun... For me," he added with a dangerous smile. Sending one last wink Ariel's way he rose to his feet. "Take her back to camp," Pan ordered, all traces of previous elation gone from his voice.

"I need to have a little chat with someone..."

* * *

He arrived at the spot where he had last left Wendy. In the distance he heard sickeningly sweet tones fill the air. The girl was singing.

Wendy was rocking back and forth softly, with her arms around her legs. Peter had kept the cage on the ground this time in case he needed more of her assistance with Henry. Something she actually appreciated quite a bit; it felt dangerous to be all the way up there.

Singing was something she used to do for John and Michael when they had trouble sleeping. When she closed her eyes she could imagine herself back in the nursery with both of them sitting on either side of her bed. This thought had always been able to calm her in her darkest hours.

Her inner tranquility was rudely interrupted by clattering of chains. It was the lock on her cage; its door was jerked open violently.

"Out," Pan said firmly. She didn't like his tone at all, he seemed very angry. She was afraid and she'd rather stay in the safety of her small crate. "NOW! Don't keep me waiting, Darling." his voice sliced through the air.

She was moving too slow for his liking so he grabbed her arm and pulled her out with great force, making her land on her hands and knees in the dirt. "Seems your brothers have some difficulty following orders. That, or they just don't care about you anymore."

She looked up at him from her position on the floor with pure fear in her eyes. Pan took a step towards her. "Peter please, I'm sorry," she said, not really knowing what it was she was apologizing for. "Oh yes, you will be sorry Wendy," he growled as he pulled her up by her hair.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ooh more followers for this story I see. That makes me so happy. :D Thanks so much to LyrisaLove and lilyaudet for reviewing, you guys are the best.**

* * *

Hook had taken a moment to isolate himself from the group, hoping this time he wouldn't be interrupted by any... _people_. He found that taking some distance from the emotional rollercoaster they all seemed to be on and having a fine drink was good for the soul.

Soon, with the alcohol taking effect, his mind started to wander. He knew the reason why he had gone back to this godforsaken land and yet, at times he truly didn't. Neverland was a place one shouldn't want to visit willingly. Unless you're a lost kid with nowhere else to go, nothing left to lose.

The reason had been Emma and her son; he couldn't bear leaving yet another innocent boy behind to fend for himself against Pan like he had Baelfire. However, with each passing day that reason became a little less significant, because now here he was, facing his worst mistakes and his deepest fears on an island that cost him his brother.

It puzzled him how the non-magical realm could have had this place pegged so utterly wrong. He'd heard the gist of the tale from Emma. Peter Pan, a happy little fellow who could fly and had jolly adventures with mermaids and fairies. The boy who was forever antagonized by the ruthless Captain Hook. More like the other way around, he scoffed to himself while taking another swig of rum. He wondered briefly how this writer even knew of Neverland and its inhabitants.

Just as he was getting a good buzz going, he heard leaves rustling. His stomach dropped and he groaned inwardly. He really didn't want to deal with Pan and his mind games right now. However, the person who emerged from the trees was certainly anyone but an obnoxious boy with an attitude problem. It was Tinkerbell. He quirked an eyebrow when he laid eyes on her.

"You were expecting someone else?" she gave him a cheeky smile. "Mind if I join you?"

Hook extended his arm to indicate she could take a seat beside him. He never minded the fairy's company. She was pretty much the only person in all the realms whose presence he could tolerate at the most inconvenient of times. She had this curious ability of seeing right through him and his wall of charm he often hid behind. Not many understood that it was merely a front. He had never been able to fool her though.

Tinkerbell looked at him for a while, her eyes fell on the bottle in his hand. "What's on your mind?"

"Just wondering what the bloody hell I was thinking coming back here," he answered with a great big sigh.

"Ah and here I thought you came all this way to see little old me."

He grinned at her, "Of course not my dear, I came to see Pan. I just missed that sunny disposition of his so much."

"Well I'm sure he feels the same," Tinkerbell chuckled and took the flask from his hand to help herself to the strong liquor Hook had introduced her to many years ago. They sat in silence for a short while until Snow came to fetch them.

As he walked a pace behind Tinkerbell, Hook pondered whether or not he'd make it out alive this time. He had learned that escaping Neverland is nothing short of a miracle. Still he went back. Once you have the opportunity to leave Neverland, it's wise to never return. Little did he know, two other individuals on the island had come to the exact same conclusion.

* * *

Why? Why on earth had she insisted on trying out her new set of legs? Why did she not jump back into the water the second her task was completed? Why hadn't she run when she had the chance?

All these questions ran through Ariel's mind as she was being dragged to the boys' campsite. Her fin scraped the ground painfully through the net they were carrying her in. She tried to grip the net with her hands to alleviate some of the stress on her lower body, but her arms became tired quickly and it didn't lessen her pain much.

Finally they came to a halt. The boys dropped the net and Ariel hit the dirt hard. She rolled on her back and stared at the sky above her. She drowned out any noise in her immediate surroundings. When she shut out the boys' talking she heard something on the wind. It vaguely resembled a girl. A girl who was screaming. Ariel narrowed her eyes in concentration. Was she imagining it, or was it really there? Before she could determine which answer it was, she felt hands tugging on the net. She focused her view on the boys; they had knives. She saw that the knives were cutting the ropes instead of her and felt some sense of relief even though she couldn't go anywhere on land with her fin. Bound or free, it mattered very little.

Hands were once more around her arms. This time dragging her towards a tree that had ropes tied around it. The ends of it were fastened to her wrists, while her fin got to rest in a small and shallow pool of water just to the side of the large tree, not nearly enough to cover her whole fin, but maybe half. It wasn't much, but she did feel more comfortable. The water eased her dried scales somewhat. She twisted her lower body just to cover the top of her fin with some water as well. With a sigh of relief she rolled back into a sitting position.

Ariel had been so preoccupied with the water that she hadn't noticed someone staring at her. So when she finally took some time to look around her, she gasped in surprise when she saw a tall blond boy observing her. It was the same boy who had stood next to Peter at the beach. The one who _hadn't_ backed away from her. His stare was so icy, a chill ran over her arms and down her back. Fearing he might take it as an invitation to speak to her or to come closer to her she stopped staring back at him. Instead she focused her gaze on a group of younger kids who were standing just a few feet away.

Felix continued to stare her down. If one had been able to see inside his mind, they would be emotionally scarred for life. Various scenarios of the redhead's end formed in his head. He snapped out of it when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Pan needed to see him. It regarded that other intruder, who he hated almost as much as the mermaid. He hoped that whatever Pan needed him for wouldn't take up all his time. The fish tied to the tree was not rid of him. Not by a long shot. He moved from his spot towards the place where the girl was kept in a cage.

What he walked in on made him smile. A mess of white laced fabric and blond curls was lying motionlessly on the hard soil. Right next to Pan's feet, who was staring down disdainfully at the little heap of girl.

"Felix, please, see to it that _this_," his eyes still on Wendy, "gets back to where it belongs. Then meet me back at camp. Our little mermaid is going to give us some answers."

* * *

Taking his anger out on Wendy had lifted his spirits a great deal. Peter smiled to himself as he recalled the image of her looking up at him with those big brown eyes of hers, eyes he had soon given another color entirely, begging for her life. Stupid girl, of course he'd let her live, what fun would it be if he killed her? Then he'd have to find himself a new toy to play with. Although, he might already have one waiting for him. He didn't even have to go through much trouble to acquire it, it just swam right into his net.

His eyes lit up as soon as he saw her. She looked positively uncomfortable, not to mention slightly weary. He wondered what exactly this girl had brought back for his useless son from that sleepy old cursed town. Had she already delivered it? Or had he hindered the exchange just in time? He couldn't wait to find out so he stalked towards her.

He had learned from 'spending time' with Wendy, that girls were easily influenced by charm. He'd used it on more than one occasion with her if had wanted something done quickly. But this was no ordinary girl, this was a mermaid. They were different. They were cold-blooded harpies without hearts. An alternative approach would have to suffice here. One he was all too eager to try.

Ariel, who had been left all by herself, tied up for quite a few hours, noticed out of the corner of her eye, someone approaching her. It was the leader of these boys. Peter Pan. Having had nothing but time to think about all that had occurred since this morning, she remembered seeing him before. Always from a distance though. As much as she liked humans and wanted to be near them and be like them, she had had a bad feeling about this particular human being from the moment she laid eyes on him. His darkness was what had kept her at bay.

After the Queen had taken her voice, she moved away to the farthest realm she could find. None of the other mermaids had wanted anything to do with her anymore; falling in love with humans, saving them, losing her most precious gift as a mermaid. They had all turned their backs on her. Ariel had never felt more alone. When she got to this land, the fairies who resided here had told her about Peter Pan and how he dealt with people who stood in his way. During her time in Neverland she had continually managed to avoid him. Until today.

Peter came to a standstill right beside her. He lowered himself to her level and studied her for a brief moment before speaking. She had been quite tenacious about resisting cooperation so far. Let's see how long she could keep that up. "You know, I _will_ make you talk," he paused to let his words sink in. "So why not make it easy on yourself and start by giving me your name," he demanded, intent on getting to the core of things without further delay.

She didn't answer. Whether she was too tired or too stubborn to do so, he couldn't tell.

"Are you going to be difficult? Because I have a lot more questions for you and well... the more you stay silent, the more I'm going to have to hurt you. So please, do yourself a favour," he shot her a look, "your name."

She looked down where his eyes couldn't reach hers. "It's Ariel."

"Very good. Now you are going to tell me all about your little mission to Storybrooke and maybe I'll let you live."

Her heart skipped a beat at hearing him speak so casually about her existence. She had gone without her voice for so long, she thought it wouldn't be all that challenging to stay quiet now, however, it proved to be more difficult than she had anticipated.

"Last chance Ariel."

She was on the verge of speaking, yet upon seeing the tall boy who had been staring at her from the start entering the camp, she froze. Pan looked over his shoulder to see what had her so frightened. Noticing that it was Felix, a wolfish grin formed on his lips. So she feared him did she? This was too perfect.

"Alright then, I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," he said, standing up abruptly.

"Felix..."

The boy's face lit up. This was his favorite part. He retrieved a small dagger that fit perfectly into his hand. Felix seemed to be admiring the weapon, before his eyes travelled over to where Ariel was.

Trapped.

Completely at his mercy.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Uh yeah this chapter... don't even get me started. I'm kinda reversing the character developement for Hook and writing my own. Although after seeing the new episodes, I'm not too convinced there was much developement to begin with. So now I am even more determined to _make_ him care about someone other than Emma and himself and that someone is going to be Ariel. **

**PS. Snow finally makes an appearance, never written her before, so fingers crossed I got her right. Oh and I'm not sure whether or not I'm supposed to warn people about when the violence occurs, but if so, it starts in this chapter.**

* * *

Practising her archery had become one of Snow's favorite things to do when stressed. Her days as a bandit had been lonely and dangerous, but the one good thing that had come out of it was that it had taught her a great deal about survival. Survival was essential here in Neverland, she had found that out before all of them had even reached the shores of this place.

Flexing the bow as far is it would go, she took aim and released the arrow. Right in that instant a dark figure stepped directly into her line of fire. She gasped and no sooner let out a sigh of relief when she saw the arrow bury itself into the tree only inches away from the figure.

The figure drew his sword, probably expecting to find Lost Boys that were trying to do him in. As soon as he marched in the direction the arrow had come from, Snow could see it was in fact Hook who was wandering the area.

"Sorry!" she called out to him, with an apologetic smile on her face. She couldn't suppress a grin when she saw him coming at her with a scowl on his face.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't use me as target practice _milady_. I know you're trying to keep me away from your daughter, but killing me might be a bit drastic."

"Hey I resent that. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have missed." She flashed him a complacent smile and retrieved a new arrow from her quiver. "Gotta say, for a second there I thought you were Charming."

"I am charming love," he winked at her.

The statement sounded so comical to Snow that she let a short laugh while rolling her eyes, effectively making the slight shakiness she was feeling at the thought of almost shooting her true love disappear. Stretching the string of her weapon once again, she got back into position.

"More training?" Hook asked, while striding over to her. He moved behind her and caressed the bow until he reached her fingers. "Aren't you quite... _skilled_ already?" An involuntary shiver ran down Snow's spine, her breath caught in her throat. Then she snapped back to reality and elbowed him in the ribs. "You are unbelievable," she exclaimed, baffled by his audacity.

"Aye, that I am," he winked at her. Snow turned around to face him.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" she decided to change the subject.

"Collecting some wood for a fire, though I found myself, distracted." An eyebrow was raised for emphasis on the last word; dashing grin in place.

Undoubtably 'distracted' was a euphemism for 'drinking'. The pirate had seemed a little out of it the past few days, more so than usual. She had noticed it that day when she found him talking to Tinkerbell. They had history obviously, Hook had spent hundreds of years in this place after all. Snow could hardly stomach one week here, let alone a couple of centuries. Perhaps his return affected him more than he tried to let on.

"Well alright let me help," she offered.

Hook spread his arm out, wordlessly inviting her to do just that. The bow was slung over her shoulder as she walked past him and took the path ahead of him. Hook trailed behind her, not able to resist taking a gander up and down her body. Old habits do die hard.

After a little while they had enough branches and small logs to keep a good fire going through the night. Snow placed her share of the firewood down on the ground to take a breather. Hook looked back at her expectantly.

"You're not coming?"

Snow looked around her. "Actually, I think I might stay and practise some more. You go on ahead." Although reluctant to stray too far from the group, she opted for a more remote spot this time. "Unless you wanna stay too and act as my target," she brightly offered.

"Had quite enough of that, thank you milady," Hook declared and with an exaggerated bow he took his leave.

She just couldn't make up her mind about the pirate. Yes he was helping them, helping Emma, but she still didn't fully trust him. Were his advances on her daughter true or was it merely a game to him? She wouldn't stand for Emma being a pawn in anyone's game. She wouldn't allow anyone to use her like that. Not Hook and not Neal.

She liked Neal, she really did, his heart was in the right place, that much was clear, but not unlike his father he too had made some bad choices in the past. Now, she knew that neither of them was perfect. In fact the entire rescue party consisted of people who had made regrettable mistakes in the past. However, that didn't mean she wasn't wary of the men trying to woo her daughter. Their intentions had to be sincere, she deserved that much. Snow just wanted the best for her daughter. Emma hadn't had that for such a long time.

* * *

It was an odd occurrence, the mermaid's fear of Felix. However, seeing her actually recoil from him was something even more odd; Pan hadn't expected that kind of reaction from the creature before him at all. He'd never known a mermaid to cower away from human beings before. This was very intriguing indeed.

"You better start talking Ariel. Felix here hates your kind. Can't say I blame him, look at what they did to him." He placed his hand on Felix's shoulder, gesturing towards the boy's face with the other.

"So unless you'd like to get carved up like the fish you are..." he trailed off studying her. He knelt down next to her and as he did so his eye fell upon a jagged scar, an inch or two below her color bone. He traced his finger over it which elicited a shiver from the mermaid. "Looks like someone beat us to it."

Ariel turned her head away from him. "Got snared on a hook once...," she said quietly.

Pan raised his eyebrows sharply, "Really? This _hook_, wouldn't happen to have been attached to a pirate now would it?" Her head snapped back to face him as soon as he'd uttered his suspicions. What he then saw in her eyes told him all he needed to know.

"Seems he wasn't too gentle with you." His voice was compassionate, yet his eyes betrayed the malignity he was actually feeling.

Not too gentle. With those three simple words, Ariel found herself right back in that moment. She lowered her head trying to fight back the tears. There had indeed been a pirate once, a man she had mistaken for a mere sailor. She had rescued him from other mermaids and the scar... the scar had been her repayment. Till this day she never regretted saving the pirate's life, though she did steer clear of any humans for a while after that.

"It's a reminder that all people are worth saving," she replied with conviction. She truly did believe that. The man may have hurt her, however, she'd seen something in his eyes moments before that. Those beautiful blue eyes that reminded her of the very waters she made her home in. There had been kindness and gratitude in them, until...

"Hm is that so?" Pan inquired, looking as though he was truly pondering over her statement. He rose to his feet again and started pacing back and forth. "You would risk your pretty neck to save me too then would you?" The corner of his lip curled up derisively as he placed before her the deceptive dilemma.

"You're not a person. You're a monster."

Her contempt amused him greatly. "So that's a 'no' then?"

"I would let you drown."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm so skilled at surviving then. If I had to rely on the likes of you..."

He let the sentence hang in the air as he realised what she had been doing. Making him think he had her cooperating because she was talking, however, she wasn't talking about anything he wanted to know about. Admittedly her connection to the pirate might come in handy, but he was done with pleasant chats. He wanted answers.

He turned around to face her. "Oh you are a clever little one. You've been wasting time, stalling in case anyone goes looking for you isn't that right? Well no one knows I have you here and even if they did, why would they care?"

Ariel appeared worried about the answer to this question. Surely Snow White would care for her, even if it had been years seen they last saw each other. Suddenly she felt the ropes binding her to the tree loosening. A dull ache in her shoulders made its presence known, causing her to wince in pain. She looked around and saw that two boys were untying her, they grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the small little pool of water onto the dry soil close to the unlit campfire.

Instantly she rolled over onto her stomach and started to crawl away, clawing with her hands at the earth beneath her. It really was no use whatsoever, but she simply couldn't not try. Not trying would be giving up. And she was nothing if not determined.

No sooner an agonizing scream reverberated throughout the forest. It was Ariel herself. She looked back and was confronted with the source of her unbearable pain. Felix had taken the dagger and stabbed it into the end of her fin, effectively pinning her to the ground. The delicate veins had burst open and now blood was trickling out. Her screams were something out of this world. Lost Boys who happened to be within the immediate vicinity of her, cringed at the sound of it. Except Peter and Felix. They felt their souls liven at the excruciating tones.

"Now," Pan continued, "what did Rumpelstiltskin send you to get?"

* * *

**Additional A/N: Ok next chapter there's gonna be some Hookrielness, I promise. Thanks for sticking with me so far you guys.**


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